Saturday, May 21. 2016

When choosing Double glazing for new upvc windows and doors one of the choices needed to be made by the discerning home owner is the choice of glazing to be used in new windows and doors.

Traditionally double glazing as come with 4mm glass both sides with varying spaces either side of the glass.

Double glazed units have developed over the years from ordinary float glass with an aluminium spacer bar to using K glass or soft coat glass to using warm edge spacer and more recently to incorporate argon gas inside sealed units. Energy rating legislation has made heat loss from double glazing significantly lower than when double glazed units first became popular in the 1970s.

A recent development in glass sealed units as been triple glazing marketed in the main by large national window replacement companies. Is the hype of triple glazing worth the extra cost from double glazing?

Triple glazing as been marketed as helping heat loss but to date the British public as not taken to triple glazing and sales remain very low. Whilst we may spend a lot of time in the UK moaning about the weather the weather is in general pretty temperate and the payback for most home owners compared to the top performing double glazed units is difficult to justify in my opinion.

We have also had two of the warmest winters on record which again makes it difficult to argue the case for the extra cost of triple glazed units maybe after another severe winter we may change our opinion.

Without a doubt triple glazing with the right configuration of glass can deliver improved sound proofing and acoustic benefits. So if noise is a problem either from others or from say a commercial building then triple glazing may offer a good solution in noise control.

Triple glazing is a product where the cost/benefit equation is difficult to argue for in most properties in the UK. In remote isolated areas their may be a slight benefit but in our opinion the cost of triple glazing does not justify the additional cost for most people.

Triple glazing offers a significant reduction in noise pollution, so it is ideal for those living in noisy areas.,/p>
Double glazing can create cold patches in the house, due to the higher u-value of windows compared to walls and doors. This problem is exacerbated by modern insulation as better and thicker wall insulation means windows become much colder compared to the rest of the house. Triple glazing is an excellent solution to this problem, as it reduces the difference in U-value between the windows and the rest of the building.